Nov 2

Nov 2 Will Santa bring you a muscle car for Christmas?

Christmas Gifts, Christmas Preparation, Holiday Shopping, Holiday Style

A daughter has graduated, found a job and is thinking about a new car. Christmas is the giving season, so she hits up the old man with a bid for that cherry red Mustang with a racing stripe.

“Whoa there, cowgirl,” he says, “I’m willing to spring for a four-wheeler, but that Mustang won’t fit in this Santa’s sack. How about a Ford Focus instead? Not as sleek or fast, but it won’t drain the bank account.”

And that’s the difference between the fantasy and reality -- as reflected in the eBay Motors Holiday Automotive Gifting Survey. Topping our “dream list” of what we’d like to find in the driveway is the Ford Mustang. But when reality sets in we realize that we’ll have to settle for “sensible” cars.

Take the Toyota Camry. It was No. 1 on the real wish list among all generations, followed by that Ford Focus and the all-purpose Honda Civic. These models top the chart when people actually go car-shopping, either at a dealership or online.

But eBay Motors said some wishes do come true. About a third of the survey’s 1,000 respondents said they had received a car as a gift (perhaps from themselves), and 8 percent said they were considering buying a car as a Christmas gift this year.

Young men may be especially lucky this yuletide, particularly if they’re married to a generous wife. Those who responded to the survey were 57 percent female and 56 percent married.

According to eBay Motors, “Millennials have the highest percentage of people who are considering buying someone a vehicle as a Christmas gift this year,” and “In terms of recipients, more millennial wives gift vehicles to their husbands.”

Graduating college was the top reason for gifting a car, with turning “sweet 16” coming in at No. 2. Third was graduating high school, and fourth was Christmas … or another life event. Even though Mother’s Day was pretty far down the list, Valentine’s Day was even lower.

Husbands and wives tend to gift each other cars, but boyfriends and girlfriends don’t, with only 1 percent saying they would. Grandparents and bosses scored a big fat goose egg on the survey. Zero.

Another option is gifting yourself. One respondent rewarded herself with a Ford Focus for losing weight.

eBay Motors said if you are gifted a car, don’t expect much else -- maybe a card, key chain or air freshener. And be grateful: About half the time the gifter paid for the vehicle and didn’t saddle you with a car loan.

The overall survey found that three-quarters of all buyers bought the car from a dealer, while only 2 percent purchased it from an online site like eBay Motors.